Disclaimer: I do not own The Fox show Bones, nor did I create these two characters or the places described here. No copyright infringement intended and no monetary profit. This is purely for testing my own creativity.

Connor

Authors Note:

This is something that came to me last night as I was laying in bed. My wife encourages me to write whenever the inspiration hits, so I bolted out of bed at 3am and wrote this.

I am still working on A Killer: Past & Present, but I just had to get this one out. If anyone who reviews this thinks I should turn this into its own small series please let me know in a PM or a review.

As always I am constantly refining my writing technique to deliver as good of a story that I can for you, the readers, to enjoy.

Constructive reviews are appreciated and negative criticism will be ignored.

Angela, the premiere forensic artist of the Jeffersonian Institute, stood considering the puzzle before her. She had a facial reconstruction of a Pompeii victim suspended in mid-air slowly rotating around a full 360 degrees. The holographic interface artfully rendered the persons face in vivid extreme detail.

However, Angela had a problem. She was completely and totally unable to focus on her job.

Her mind remained fixated upon two inescapable facts. The first one being that Temperance Brennan, her best friend and the head Forensic Anthropologist here, was overdue returning from a case in Savannah, Georgia. The second one was that Brennan's partner, FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth, her knight-in-standard-issue-body-armor, also hadn't returned. They also hadn't heard from either one in several days.

Briefly blowing a loose strand of hair out of her face she gave up the pretense of actually trying to work and strode over to her office.

As she reached the office the phone rang. Quickly grabbing up the receiver she breathed an excited "hello!" into it.

"Ange? It's Brennan" came the reply

"Bren! Where the hell are you?"

"Booth and I are still in Savannah"

"I kind of guessed that honey. You've been stuck down there for a week and a half, when are you coming back?"

"We'll be back in a few days. The suspect has been caught, but the prosecutor has dumped a ton of extra paperwork on us and Booth is pushing to have him extradited to D.C., where he started his trail of bodies. The D.A. is being obstinate and things are moving slowly here"

"Heh … maybe you and Mr. F.B. eye candy can spend a little romantic time crossing the line if-you-know-what-I-mean … heh."

"…"

"Bren? Honey? You there?"

"Yes Ange, I'm still here. As a matter of fact I have a favor to ask you."

"OK, shoot."

"Since I'm going to be delayed can you swing by my apartment and pick up my mail? It's probably spilling out of the box by now. And also throw out the leftover Chinese that in my fridge?"

"Sure thing, Bren. And don't forget to spend some Q.T. time with the stud muffin!"

"… I don't know what that means"

"Forget it; I'll explain when you get back. And I want details."

sigh "Bye Ange."

"Bye Hon!"

Angela hung up the receiver and sat back, her mind a little more at ease concerning Brennan. With the questions temporarily settled, she returned her attention to the Roman Pompeii victim.

--

Room 201, the Hilton HotelSavannah, Georgia

Dr. Temperance Brennan ended the phone call and looked over at her partner. She noticed an odd look on his face.

"What's wrong?" she questioned

"That woman is entirely way too perceptive and persistent for her own good." He replied.

Brennan simply arched an eyebrow.

"What? She's singularly obsessed with us getting together as a couple"

"She knows my views on marriage and the societal rules of courtship and engagement, not to mention my…"

"Bones …"

She rolled her eyes at him and then smiled, responding with:

"I suppose that is a little hypocritical of me at this point. Let's go down to the courthouse and see if we can strong leg the D.A. into approving the request"

"That's strong arm the D.A. Bones … and maybe we can go get some pie afterwards!"

They exited the suite with him expounding on the virtues of pie, a hand placed in the small of her back guiding and supporting her. And she walked gracefully in synch with him, moving as only two attenuated minds can …

--

The apartment of Dr. Temperance BrennanWashington D.C.Sometime Later In the Evening

Angela placed the key in the lock, a pile of mail carefully placed under her right arm. Depositing the load in a precarious pile on the countertop she moved on to the fridge. Carefully extracting the remnants of almost two week old food, she dropped it in the trash and carefully pulled the trash bag out.

At this moment, the large pile of mail proceeded to slip and fall to the floor with a crash. Eyeing the pile, and blowing another loose strand of hair out of her face with an exasperated sigh, she sauntered over and stooped down to pick up the envelopes. Mumbling to herself she proceeded to pick everything up and drop them on the counter.

"Maybe I can convince Jack to a nice hot tub soaking evening … out … in … the …"

She trailed off as something caught her eye on one of the envelopes.

"What do we have here?" she asked herself

There were several letters for "Mr. Seeley Booth" and an envelope from the Department of Motor Vehicles. Flipping it over, she saw who it was addressed to.

Angela sat down heavily in a chair with altering expressions of shock, happiness, and anger working their way across her face.

Making a decision, she reached for her cell phone …

--

Special Agent Seeley Booth lay in bed at the hotel, a cascade of reddish-auburn hair covering his bare chest. The hair belonged to Temperance "Bones" Brennan, who, while laying half across him with Booth's hand tracing small circles on her bare back, had a satisfied look on her face and a content purr emanating from her. The scene in the room of Booth and Brennan, barely covered by a light sheet on the bed, were the exact picture of a happy and relaxed couple.

That changed in an instant when Brennan's head shot up in a sudden display of alarm. Booth, who was slowly drifting off to sleep, was rudely awakened by the sudden movement. After seeing the look of panic on her face he asked:

"Hey Bones … what's up? What's wrong? … Oh boobs!"

She looked down at him, the chain containing her silver wedding ring dangling from her neck, with a combined mixture of love, dismay, and a "Did I marry an FBI agent or a 12 year old boy?" look on her face.

"Seeley … my new license should have arrived in the mail by now" she said.

"… So?" he replied, fascinated by the ring dangling near his face … which was an exact match for the one that was hanging around his neck.

"So? … Seeley … my new license has my married name on it … and the envelope would be addressed to Temperance Booth."

"Again I say … so?"

With an exasperated sigh she rolled off him and started looking around for her phone. Booth, dismayed by the loss of his wife's body in front of him, sat up as well.

"I don't really see what this has any sort of bearing on anything" he said.

She looked at him like he was a specimen under one of her microscopes

"Booth, I sent Angela over to collect my mail … several pieces of which will also have my new name on it … remember?" she said.